My undergrad degree was in electrical engineering. Since then, I’ve worked in industry for over a decade - both as an electrical engineer and as a software engineer.
In this post I’ll list all the technical courses I took in undergrad, with a remark on whether I ever used them on the job.
Some nuances:
I may have used material from advanced courses, but that doesn’t mean all its prerequisites get a “Yes”. As an example, I utilized the fact that local optimizers often estimate the gradient of the objective function - something I learned when taking a numerical analysis course. Understanding that requires an understanding of calculus. However, unless I actually did some integration/differentiation for my work, I would still mark calculus in the negative.
Also note: I took numerical analysis in graduate school, hence its exclusion from this list.
There were times I utilized the material from a course at work, but it really wasn’t needed, and the work would still have got done without it. I usually mark them as a “yes”, but I’ll note these situations accordingly.
I may have utilized several of these in hobby projects, but I’m counting only items I needed for work.
Chemistry
Never used.
Calculus I
We learned single variable calculus.
Yes. Used it once or twice to differentiate a function, but it wasn’t needed.
Calculus II
Continuation of single variable calculus. Several integration tricks as well as convergence of series.
Never used.
Calculus III
Multivariable calculus. Never used.
Engineering Graphics
Never used.
Introduction to Programming
Basics of programming, including binary search trees and trees in general.
Used it.
Discrete Math
Used it on a few rare occasions to enumerate the possible cases (factorials, combinations, etc).
I’ll count it even though all that I used was taught to me in high school.
Engineering Physics I
Mechanics
Never used.
Engineering Physics II
Electromagnetics, circuits
Used basic circuit principle like Ohm’s Law
Circuits I
This covered DC circuits in detail (Thevenin/Norton, RLC circuits, etc).
Not used. (Well, I did but everything I used was taught in the more basic Physics II course, so I counted that instead).
Circuits II
AC circuits. Small signal analysis. Fourier series.
Never used.
Differential Equations
Never used.
Engineering Statics
Free body diagrams and all the physics/math behind static loads.
Never used.
Engineering Dynamics
Continuation of statics, but now with motion.
Never used.
Linear Algebra
Vectors, matrices, vector spaces, etc.
This is a tough one as most of my usage for it was indirect via numerical algorithms. But I think I did once or twice have to write computational code that involved rudimentary matrix computations (scalar product, etc).
I’ll call this a “yes”.
Fluid Mechanics
Never used.
Probability and Statistics
Yes.
Digital Logic
Used a Karnaugh map once. Didn’t need to, but I did.
Signals and Systems
Various transforms (z, Fourier, Laplace), solving recurrence relations, etc.
Never used it.
Electromagnetics
Never used it.
Topics in Pure Math
Random topics (Cantor’s Diagonalization, etc).
Electronics I
BJTs, amplifiers, etc.
Never used
Electronics II
MOSFETs, Op Amps, various circuit topologies
Never used it.
(Technically, I did a lot of MOSFET work, but all of it involved material from a course I took in grad school - I could have skipped this course altogether).
Electrical Machines
Generators, Motors, etc
Never used it.
Advanced Electromagnetic Theory
Waveguides, antennae, etc.
Never used it.
Engineering Economics
Sunk cost, interest rate calculations, etc.
Never used it.
Microcontrollers
Never used it.
Communications Theory
FM/AM, Nyquist, Shannon, etc.
Never used it.
Control Theory
PID controllers, state space controllers, etc.
Never used it.
Communication Circuits
Actual circuits for PLLs, etc.
Never used it.
Information Theory
Entropy, etc.
Never used it.
Complex Variables
Calculus of complex numbers.
Never used it.
Engineering Physics III
Thermodynamics
Never used it.
Programming II
Classes, object oriented design, etc.
Used it.
Modern Physics
Special Relativity and introduction to QM
Never used it.
High Frequency Circuits
Smith charts, transmission line theory, etc.
Never used it.
Classical Mechanics (physics)
Up to Lagrangians.
Never used it.
Electromagnetics (physics)
Never used it.
Quantum Mechanics I (physics)
Never used it.
Quantum Mechanics II (physics)
Never used it.